


Sloom

by axolotlNerd



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party (Band), Skyhill (Band), Starbomb (Band), The Northern Hues (Band)
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, Murder, Ouija, Ouija Board, Probably not gonna end happy tbh, Reader is a ghost, Seriously it's not good, let's turn ghost!reader into more of a thing, violence in the beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-10-23 19:25:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10725648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axolotlNerd/pseuds/axolotlNerd
Summary: I'm back! Just for a chapter tho~Basically I caught the flu and I'm now stuck in bed. I'll just be having a short, semi-hiatus as I rid myself of this horrid sickness. Thank you for reading, though! It means the world to me.





	1. Help Me Forget What I Am

It started out as white, blinding pain. Sort of. You couldn’t feel much; your throat was sore and used to hell and back, and there was a pricking pain in your skull. That headache seemed to fade for a while, but despite that, everything was black. 

Then you felt someone. Fingers, just ghosting on your cheek, tracing down to your jaw. “You’ve got such beautiful lips.” A voice said. Had you been blindfolded? Kidnapped? God, what the fuck was happening? “It’s a shame you won’t be using them anymore.” The voice said, their fingers no longer gentle as he gripped your jaw, making you gasp as he forced it open, grabbing at your tongue. 

You tried to scream, but it must have been useless, a dry, rasping whimper was let out as his hands finally gripped your tongue. Adrenaline rushed through you, making your eyes wet with tears. They were immediately soaked up by the cloth on your eyes, making you feel so much more hopeless. 

“Be still, lovely. It won’t last much longer.” 

That was when the pain really kicked in. You felt the sharpness of a blade trace your tongue before you screamed out in agony, The whole world going black. 

 

You’d known what had happened once you woke up. You were dead, you had to be. You couldn’t have lived through that. Though, you weren’t exactly sure what  _ had _ happened. You just laid there, avoiding movement in the hopes that if you didn’t move, it wouldn’t hurt. Because it hurt so, so bad. 

You coughed. Violently, allowing pain to rip through your body. You blinked open your eyes, starting to really feel what was going on. 

Your hands were tied together. Tightly so you couldn’t escape, but the flow was clearly there. Same with your ankles. Your mouth and throat were still in extreme agony. You didn’t know what had happened, though. 

You tried to call out, face down on the cement.  _ “Hello?” _ You tried to say. Instead it came out as a weak sounding “Heee-ooh?”  _ Your fucking tongue had been cut out. What sick bastard- _

“You’re awake. I’m sorry. The police are outside. I want to take at least one of you with me, though.” Their voice would have made you throw up if you’d had food in your stomach.  _ There were more in here? _

You could feel him flip you over, making you want to scream again. The blade traced your face, tucking itself under the cloth on your eyes and ripping it, letting you trace the lines of their face as they stared at you. It was too dark to see anything, but you were glad you hadn’t. 

You could see him raise his arm, then felt the piercing of the blade in your stomach and screamed. Again. And again. And again. 

Then it was dark again. 

 

When you opened your eyes, the room was empty. But you could see clearly, having no blindfold, and the light was there again. You didn’t feel hurt anymore, either. You just felt sore. “Hello?” Your voice rung out, gently. 

_ Was that just some crazy, fucked up dream? Then where am I? _ You wondered. Your voice came out, now, not being torn or bent. You looked around, going up the stairs where the light was shining. 

Apparently, you’d been in some guy’s basement somewhere in the middle of nowhere. When you looked outside, there were flashing lights of ambulance and police along the off-road somewhere in what looked like Arizona or New Mexico. You ran out the open door, hoping that as you yelled, someone would come up to you and hug you, asking how you got out there alive and well. 

But another part of you  _ knew. _

You called out, screaming. But no one listened. You ran up to one of the EMTs, running up to their face and screaming as loud as you could. “Hey! Look at me!  _ Look at me, damn it! _ I’m right here! I’m right here, please  **don’t do this!”** You screamed as loud as you could, feeling your voice ache. But they turned back to what they were doing, looking at something on a gurney, covered in a black bag.

You immediately felt repulsed by it, not only because of what you knew, but physically.  _ That was you, that’s you. You’re dead. _ You thought, breathing heavily. 

_ You are dead. _

 

It took a few days to stop reeling. Possibly even a few weeks. You just stayed outside that house, hoping that you’d find someone who could see you. 

And you did. Miraculously. Though, they weren’t quite a person.

You just heard loud, unrelentless sobbing coming from the house, once. You gasped at the sound, wondering who could have gotten in that you didn’t see. Apparently ghosts don’t sleep, so you would have known. 

So you busted in through an open window. You looked around to find the source of the crying, running to the basement where you died. And there it was; a flickering, blue flame. 

You calmed her down, getting her to stop crying. When you did, you both asked each other loads of questions. “What do I look like to you?” “Do you remember your name?” “Where do we go?” You had answers for so many of those questions except the last one. 

Neither of you could remember anything about yourselves other than your death. You just remembered the violence and the pain of it all, none of the sweet memories of before that you must have had. When she talked about it, her flame grew and turned red, flickering as her voice grew angry. You tried to calm her, but it started to stop working after a few days. 

She started breaking things. It started with the glasses in the cupboards upstairs that she grabbed and smashed on the floor, screaming obscenities and colorful things you didn’t even know children knew. Eventually, you saw her real form start to flicker to life, like a hologram. 

She was a small girl, who looked see-through other than the light grey outlines of her face and body. You kept trying to calm the girl’s rage, but she refused to listen to reason. She smashed the table, grabbed hold of things you couldn’t even make a dent on, throwing them into the walls. She so quickly deteriorated that the previously white outlines of her became black, smoking and more realistic with every violent outburst. 

You knew you had to escape. You could almost feel this girl’s rage seeping into you. You didn’t want to be this; angry and violent, destroying everything you could touch. You wanted to protect someone, make sure they didn’t die the same way you did. 

So you ran, escaping and hoping she wouldn’t hurt you. Can ghosts hurt other ghosts? Hopefully you wouldn’t have to find out. You kept running, and thank God you didn’t have physical energy you needed to keep up with anymore.

You found a car on the side of the road, someone working in the sweltering heat to fix it. They were bent over the hood, so you crawled into the car through the open window, sitting in the passenger’s seat and waiting for them to drive. 

 

You travelled like that for a long time. Hopping from car to car, sightseeing all the way. You could have jumped on a plane to Europe if you wanted, but that felt like such a daunting task. With cars, it was always a surprise.

Something odd about being a ghost as how much you learned about it just by being there. You found out why people could pass through you but other moving objects normally wouldn’t; they had a soul. That was what the blue flickering flame was you saw in the girl. People with evil souls have theirs turn red. And, if your tried really hard, you could see a living thing’s soul. 

You also learned that you were going to become that little girl. Eventually, even if you didn’t want to. All ghosts deteriorate, and they either find out how to move on or get exorcised before they can. And the thing about cold spots? Kind of true. When people walked through you, they shivered, looking around confused. You found it somewhat amusing, to be honest. 

Ghosts got stronger as they deteriorated, too. It sounds weird, but it was more along the lines of emotional deterioration. They became more corporeal as they got stronger, in a way. People started to see them if their souls were strong enough. 

You’d never forget the one you saw get exorcised. He was furious for some reason, and you watched from the sidelines. What else were you supposed to do? You couldn’t even move a rock without getting “knocked out” for a week. Apparently you weren’t very strong of a spirit. 

Two blonde girls came to where the ghost was, the younger one almost getting killed in his fury. They found his grave, though. He rushed to them, trying to kill them first, but they salted and burned the bones. You had to just watch as he screamed, going up in flames before flickering out. 

You swore you’d never,  _ never, _ be like him or die like that. 

 

Car-hopping eventually got you to L.A. after years. You’d decided a few times that you’d settle for a while in different places, though you hadn’t even been here. There was so much to do, you couldn’t help but stop to at least explore.

So you walked around, exploring the area. Maybe you could even find an abandoned apartment to call home? Maybe even haunt someone just to see the gossip of their life? You did end up finding an apartment that seemed mainly unused, a little dusty and smelling old. 

Hell, there was even a secret room. The door was somewhat hidden, and a hole in the wall that helped you figure out something cool you could do as a ghost: blip right through tiny holes. You found yourself using that a lot to get in and out of “your” room.

You lived there for a long time. You found yourself content with just resting, finding new shops and people to follow, searching for more ghosts in L.A. Surprisingly, there weren’t many. 

 

“Welcome to the office!” Someone exclaimed. You gasped, jumping up from your rest. Ghosts couldn’t sleep, but you found out about this hibernation state you could go into that almost felt like sleep. No dreams, though. 

“Ooooh, this is nice!” Someone else said. It was a man and a woman, as far as you could tell. You pushed yourself through your “door”, looking at them. The man was fairly tall, vibrant dark brown locks of feathered hair brushing his shoulders. There was a blonde streak in there, too, matching the one of the black haired shorter woman next to him. She had thin and happy looking eyes, and lots of make-up. They must have been moving in. 

The two immediately started talking about where to put things. You sighed, deciding to just hope they didn’t find your secret room and maybe just live with them. Finding an empty apartment in L.A. is hard after all. 

 

They never did find your room. They put a shelf of video games over the door by accident, leaving you with your ghost door. 

You had a routine when you “lived” with people. When you first moved in, it was always the same - scream in their faces for a few minutes and see if they saw you. It hadn’t worked for anyone, yet. When it came to Suzy, though, the girl with black hair and happy eyes, she looked a little confused. 

She’d been on her computer, thinking critically when you stood in front of her and started yelling. “Look at me!  _ Look at me! _ Fucking stop looking through me, I’m right in front of you!” You started yelling, feeling the rage pour out of you. You stopped when her eyes started focusing and unfocusing on you, curious and confused. 

Sometimes people had “loud” thoughts. Ones that you could hear when they were strong enough.  _ “Is something there?” _ Suzy wondered. You heard it as she leaned in. You could feel her concentration braking, so knowing it wouldn’t work, you slapped her across the face. 

Of course, your hand phased through her. But you knew she’d recognize the cold spot on her face. She looked surprised for a minute before someone called to her. Arin, you found out, as her husband and was the brown haired guy that you ‘met’ the first day. 

“Something up, Suze?” He asked. Suzy shrugged. 

“No, thought I saw something weird.” She replied with, looking at you confused one more time before going back to her work. 

You grew fond of Arin and Dan, his best friend. The recorded themselves playing video games in the room right next to you, and they were funny.  _ Really _ funny. You hadn’t laughed that much in a long time. Probably ever. 

You had a strange feeling that like Suzy, Dan had it in him to see you. It was a strange sense that you knew would happen one day. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but some part of you really wanted to believe.

So one day, you hatched a plan. You knew Suzy was into the occult, ghost activity things. Maybe, just maybe, you could find a way to get her to see you first. 

Phase one started. 


	2. You Could Never Know The Pain I've Seen

Being a ghost is frustrating, undoubtedly. And frankly, just boring. That’s why so many ghosts get aggressive. They’re so pent up with no one to talk to and nowhere to go. It mostly happens with the bound ghosts; one’s who’re still tied here because of unfinished business or just their body still being around. 

You were pretty sure your body was cremated, as you weren’t bound to one spot. Sudden or traumatic deaths usually pair up with ghosthood, so that must’ve been it in your case.

That’s what causes the natural deterioration of ghosts. The pent up anger and sadness and boredom in their system turns into unbridled rage that just can’t be tamed. That strength is what gives ghosts the illusion of corporeality with no vessel. 

You weren’t about to go possessing anyone, though. That’s what leads to being exorcised. And you didn’t want to be angry. That can just get too out of hand. 

You somehow managed to do it, though. You found out how to use pure concentration and use it on flickering the lights, making the whole room cold, knocking on the walls. You did it without rage, miraculously. 

Suzy noticed. She was excited, though you could tell she hid it. The guys didn’t believe in ghosts, so she didn’t talk about it much. 

Phases both 1 and 2 were a success. Now you just had to hope suzy pushed through to start Phase 3. 

 

Everyone know ouija boards are cheesy and don’t work. But if you concentrated, maybe you could make and work. And by God, Suzy did it. She brought an ouija board, and you followed her as she talked to Dan. 

“Okay, listen.” She said excitedly. “Do you believe in ghosts?” Dan looked at her confused. 

“I know the lights are shit in here and the A.C’s fucked, but you don’t really think there’s ghost, do you?” He asked, looking skeptical. 

“Yes!” You called, yelling out. “I’m here! I’m right here, just look harder!”

“Okay, so, like, the first few days we were here at the new office. I was working on something, and all of a sudden I hear this distant yelling. I could have  _ sworn _ I saw someone there!” She said. Dan still didn’t look convinced. “There’s this secret room, dude. There’s a shelf blocking it and I know something’s in there. We never checked it out before. At the very least will you go on an adventure and see what’s in there with me? I can’t move the shelf by myself anyways.” 

Dan smiled, shaking his head. “Fine, I don’t see why not. But I’m scrawny as shit, don’t know why you chose me.” He joked. 

“You’re the only one who kinda believes in ghosts?” She offered. Dan shrugged. They walked over to the shelf, moving together to push it out of the way to the small door. It almost looked like it didn’t exist. 

“Huh. Shit, how’d we never see this? He asked. Suzy shrugged, opening the door and pulling her way in, phone’s flashlight on. You followed, excited and happy. 

Dan looked around for a minute, looking at the dust all around. While he was checking the nooks and crannies, Suzy pulled out the ouija board that you laughed at. She lit a candle, making Dan turn around. 

“Oh, no. Oooooh no, we are not-” 

“Come on, no one else will. Plus, it’s dangerous to do alone. What if it’s a mean ghost and they kill me?” She pouted. 

“I’d never,” You say, despite the fact she couldn’t hear you. 

Dan sighed. “Fine, but I’ll make my ghost beat up the one that kills us.” 

Suzy smiled happily, sitting down cross legged with Dan across from her. She closed her eyes and spoke. “Spirits of the Grump Office, please join us for this seance and, uh, give us guidance?” You smiled, at the words, placing your hands on the planchette and concentrating. “Dan, ask a question.” She said. 

“Uh… Are you here?” He asked simply. You tried to push it, but it just wouldn’t work. You kept concentrating but your head started to throb. You could hear a loud thought from Dan.  _ “Shit, should I move it so she’s not upset?”  _ He wondered. You gasped. 

“No! I’m trying, it’s just… Hard…” You said, concentrating. Dan looked stunned for a moment, looking around. Suzy gasped. 

“What? What happened?” She asked, full of curiosity. 

“Don’t make fun of me, but I think I heard her?” He said, almost asking. Suzy gasped. 

“Come on, ask again!” She said. Dan sighed. 

“Are you here?” He asked, more timidly this time. You yelled as you pushed the planchette. 

“Yes! I’m here, I’m right here! Please, just… Work!” You were able to barely move the planchette towards ‘yes’ before Dan jumped up, speaking. 

“Nope! Nope, no, I’m out.” He said, going back out through the door and into the kitchen area. 

Suzy gasped. “What? No, you can’t just walk off! Come on, you gotta close the portal with me at least.” She almost begged. 

“No! This is scary as shit, I don’t want-” You interrupted his nervousness by yelling, Screaming as loud as you could and banging on the table. 

“Please! I’m so lonely, please just try! I’ve been trying so hard to get your attention, why won’t you just  **_listen?!”_ ** You screamed, banging your fists on the table. You looked at the table, seeing an abandoned glass and, in your unbridled rage and loneliness, flung it across the table and watched it smash to the floor. 

You just sat there, breathing for a minute. You looked up at Dan and Suzy, watching them stare at you incredulously. If you could have seen through their eyes, you would have seen the flickering image of a crying girl, yelling and desperate. 

You blinked, wiping your tears away. “I’m sorry.” You said quietly. You didn’t know if they could hear, but Suzy looked concerned while Dan just looked confused. 

“One last try.” Dan said, walking over to the secret room. Suzy nodded, following close behind. You followed. Dan put his hands on the planchette wit Suzy, clearly tense. “Are you here?” He asked gently. You found yourself a lot more powerful than before as you pushed it to ‘Yes’. 

Suzy smiled softly. “Are you a good spirit?” She asked. You just kept it on ‘Yes’ for a moment before pushing it over the letters. “S-O-R-R-Y” You spelled. 

“For the glass?” Dan asked.

‘Yes’. 

“That’s fine. You… You looked upset. Are you okay?” Suzy laughed at the response. 

‘Yes. T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U’

“See? She’s a polite ghost!” Suzy said, happily. Dan laughed, still tense, but loosening up. 

“Can you talk?”

‘C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-E-D”

“Can you try?” This took you by surprise. You cleared your throat, concentrating. 

“Can you hear me?” You asked at a normal volume. Dan looked around for a moment while Suzy stayed staring at the planchette. “Can you hear me?!” You raised your voice, making Dan jump. 

“Shit! Suzy, I swear to God if this is one of your friends talking, I will never forgive-”

“You can hear her?!” Her response was as genuine as they come, full of wonder and curiosity. Dan considered this for a moment. 

“Well, shit. I mean… Yeah?” He asked. You just stared at him incredulously. “...Did I get drugged or something?” He muttered, making you laugh. He smiled a bit, scoffing at the sound. “She likes my jokes.” He said, smiling and putting a hand in his hair. 

“That’s good! Can you see her?” She asked. You immediately started trying to pull of a visual form. As it turns out, living people have an easier time seeing visual forms than they do souls. His eyes widened as he put his other hand in his hair. 

“This is.. Crazy as shit. Since when am  _ I _ the medium? You were always the ghost lady.” He sighed before you spoke again. 

“I can bet this is a lot to take in. But… Holy shit, you can  _ see _ me. Hear me.” You said. He looked at you, still seeing your flickering form. 

“What’s your name?” Suzy asked. 

“I… I don’t remember anything from life, actually. Just the dying part.” You said. Dan spoke for you before Suzy let out a small hum. 

“Weird. What should we call you?” You thought, humming as you did so. Trying to think of a name, a name you like, a name that fit you well, something they could call you. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion hit you, making your already glitching form disappear from his view as you fell to the floor. 

“What? What just happened?” He said, turning to Suzy, and then to where you previously were. 

“She probably ran out of energy or something. Holy shit, you just talked to a ghost!” She said, leaning back and putting a hand on her head. “We’ve gotta talk to her again. And we’ve gotta give her a name!” She said enthusiastically. Dan just curled over, gripping at his stomach. 

“I think I’m gonna barf.” He said, pale and still tense. Side effects, you thought. There had to be some, talking to a dead person. Both emotionally and physically. Suzy reached over and rubbed his back, smiling. 

“Aww, poor thing. Need a bucket?” She asked. She was always surprisingly sweet, so her response wasn’t a surprise. You were still laying on the floor, almost immobile to your lack of energy, but watching them in your secret room was a joy. 

“No, I think I’m good.” His voice still sounded strained as he sat up. “You’re sure I’m not crazy? There’s a fuckin’... Ghost. In the office.” He rubbed his face, still trying to recover from the shock. Suzy laughed. 

“Come on, you’re a big boy. Bootstraps!” She said, helping him up from the floor. You sighed, pulling yourself up to follow. “And yes, I’m sure you’re not crazy. I saw her, too. Only for a second, so unless we’re both losing our shit, I think we’re fine.” 

They walked out, you struggling to keep close behind your new friends. 

 

They’d picked up the shattered glass, which you kept apologizing for. Even though they couldn’t hear you. Afterwards, they discussed what happened, you listening in and laughing

“Okay, so first of all, can she, like, hear us?” Dan asked. Suzy shrugged. 

“Depends on if she’s here. It definitely seemed like she wasn’t… In the house, I’d phrase it? Like, she’s not in the walls. She’s just an invisible person.” She explained. Dan nodded. 

“What do we call her? We can’t just keep calling her ‘Her’, after all.” He asked. Suzy hummed in thought, laughing a little before speaking. 

“Do you think she’d be offended if we started calling her Bloody Mary?” You puckered your lips at the choice of words, considering them.

“Aww, but she’s not evil!”

“Or Myrtle? Like Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter?” You thought for a moment, trying to recall the name. Nothing came to your mind. 

“Mmmmmaybe we should ask her?” The thought came to Dan as he hummed in thought, blurting it out. You knocked on the floor, trying to signal you were there. Dan smiled. “Okay, once for yes, twice for no. What do you think of Myrtle?”

_ Knock. Knock. _

Suzy chimed in. “Barbara? From Beetlejuice?”

_ Knock. Knock. _

“How about just Mary? Since you’re not quite Bloody?” Dan asked, his gaze flickering around as he wasn’t quite sure where to meet your gaze. You smiled, knocking just once. You liked that name, Mary. It made you feel less like you were what you were. Because you refused to be the monster you thought you were. The fearsome being that people thought you were. 

“Mary it is. We’ve got a new roommate, I guess.” Dan said. You smiled, knowing that for once, someone knew. Someone cared. For the first time in every part of your life you could remember, someone  _ cared. _ It felt so surreal.

You wished you could hug them. You wished you could cry to release part of that happiness. You had a name, you had friends, and a chance to become something else.

“Hey, Suze?” Dan asked, turning to his friend. She hummed. “What do we tell Arin?”

She quickly replied with “No.” before standing up from her seat, grabbing her things in preparation to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Just for a chapter tho~
> 
> Basically I caught the flu and I'm now stuck in bed. I'll just be having a short, semi-hiatus as I rid myself of this horrid sickness. Thank you for reading, though! It means the world to me.


	3. Maybe We Could Be Something Stronger Than Ourselves

Months passed. Soon enough, the hot and dry May you spoke to Suzy and Dan in turned to June, July, August, moving faster than you thought to try and keep up with. You kept talking to Dan and Suzy, and found that like when a physical body exercises for months, you got stronger as you used your powers more often.

At first, it was a small daily routine you set yourself up with. You'd use every nit of power you had, opening the Keurig and moving to make coffee for Barry, who was always the first to come in the mornings. He'd mostly just assume he forgot making the drink for himself. For a while, it was all you had the energy to do. Within a month, it became a much smaller task, and then you'd spend the rest of the time talking to Dan and Suzy in whatever ways you could.

Dan saw and heard you. It was more than almost anyone else had ever done. In the beginning, he could only see if you were trying very hard to become visible, and he could only hear if you yelled, which scared him. But you got stronger. And apparently, so did he.

 

He came into the office very early one October morning, looking shaken and scared and his eyes were puffy with tears. You ran to him, fretting and scared. "What's wrong? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" Dan gave little recognition you were there, nothing but a simple nod. He sat down on the couch in his usual nest of blankets, and you sat next to him, quiet. He held a warm travel mug of tea, and stared at the steam that poured out through the hole in the lid.

He was too quiet, especially for Dan. What if talking to you so much was hurting him? Changing him? What if you were hurting people no matter what you did, what if just being near your new friends was making them deteriorate like you are?

"Will you please tell me what's wrong?" You ask, trying to sound sweet and soft because you know that's what he responds to. He let out a hum, half shrugging.

"I mean- I was almost scared to think you'd think I'm crazy for saying it." He laughed to himself. "I... I was on a walk this morning, just going around the sidewalks and stuff, and I... I saw another ghost, I think."

You felt a trickle of fear and anger run down your spine. What did they do to him?

"He was a teenager, I think. He looked like you, with the outlines and barely-there stuff. But he was..." He trailed off and shuddered. "Darker. Much, much darker. And he was pissed, running around the woods and clawing the bark off trees like a bear. I ran away before he saw me, but I just- I never thought I'd see one other than you, Mary. I never thought I'd see one that looked so angry!"

You could feel his heart thumping as he looked up at you, fear in his eyes. You had never explained what happened to ghosts as they got worse. And you can't now, because that might scare him off. You didn't think you could live with yourself if you scared him like that.

"Ghosts can be scary. But what he was doing, that wasn't normal." You weren't entirely lying. You knew for a fact that ghosts  _could_  be kind creatures, that they  _could_ maintain themselves for long enough to find peace wherever it may be. But you knew they could easily become that same darkness that Dan had seen. "Can you take me there? To where you saw the kid?" You ask hastily.

"Yeah, are you sure?" He asked. "I don't... I don't want him to hurt you." 

He looked so concerned, so worried for you. You could feel his heart, held tightly with a grip of fear for you. It was reasonable; you were afraid, too. It was nice of him to be feeling things for you. Even if it was unnecessary.

"I'm sure. Can we go there now?" You ask.

"Sure. I'll just text Arin that I won't be in 'till later." He said, taking out his hone and then drinking from his cooling tea. You stood up and began making Barry's coffee, leaving it on the counter for him when he got here. Part of you morbidly wondered if this would be the last cup you made for him.

You shook off the thought. You'd interacted with the dark ones before, you could do it again. But still, part of you was scared.

"You ready?" Dan asked, warming his hands on his mug.

You nod. "Let's go."

 

The drive wasn't very long, but it was tense. You could hear pieces of Dan's thoughts, worrying.

_What if it hurts us?_

_What if it kills us?_

_What does it want?_

_Why is it here?_

_Where will it go?_

You wanted to reassure him. Tell him that you'll make sure it didn't hurt him, you'd never let it. You wanted to explain everything but you knew better, you knew that might scare him it blocking you out. You knew he didn't like the fact you could hear his loud thoughts and you didn't want to scare him with that either.

"We'll be fine." You tell him. He breathes out, those whether it's a sigh of agitation or relief you can't tell.

Eventually, he pulls over to the side of a road with a thin, dirt sidewalk. "It was here." He says, under his breath as to not let anyone hear him talking to himself. It's still very early in the morning, so you don't think anyone would have heard him regardless.

You set into the woods, and immediately feel a daunting presence settle over you.  _So much work to do, I have so much shit I need to do, stay after school on Tuesday to talk with Mr. Thompson, therapy on Wednesday, club meeting on Friday, so much homework and it's all due tomorrow,_ it's thinking so loudly and it's thoughts are practically consuming you, a teenager who just wants to make it through school but he doesn't realize. You grip you head, trying to shake away it's thoughts but they're gripping you like a vice.

"Mary? Are you okay? We can leave if you want to." Dan tells you. You shake your head, half because of the thoughts.

"No. Something- Something is up here, we have to fix it." You explain, marching into the woods adamantly. Dan sighed, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he followed you.

You found the scratched apart trees quickly, and followed them. They were certainly not placed erratically. They made a path deep into the woods, and eventually, the red and yellow leaves of the canopy were so thick they made the forest almost look dark in the morning light. You followed the path for a long time, before finding a place the trees just circled.

Dan looked at the scratches in the tree. They were deeper here. He wandered around, making his way to the middle of the circle when a strong smell hit him like a cannonball. "Oh, God," He muttered, gagging at scent of death that filled the air. He stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the smell because it made every hair on his body stand on edge. "Mary?" He called to you. You couldn't smell it, but felt it hit you all the same. 

It was this feeling of death but it wasn't the a feeling you could describe. You could only say that it made you uneasy and uncomfortable, wanting to go home. Regardless of the feeling filling you and the thoughts that plagued you, you made your way closer to the source of the feeling.

He's barely covered with the earth he lay on, like somebody lazily kicked some dust over him and let him rot. His skin more clings to his bones than anything, and his hands are loosely held by his neck, as if he were touching something there. A necklace? Or an injury? You couldn't tell.

The air was filled with electricity as you knelt down to the body. Dan knew what you were looking at, and didn't dare bring himself any closer. He was already crying, not letting out a single noise as tears fell down his face. He held a hand tightly to his mouth, trying to cover the scent from getting anymore in him than it was.

You heard a small crack in the brush behind you. You whipped around, looking to see the ghost of the dead boy standing some six inches away from you. He had a dark gray outline to him, and his flame was blazing brightly red. He had a furious look in his eyes,his his stance was soft and he was almost reaching out to you, as if asking for a hand to hold or change to spare. 

His peaceful stance broke, and he lunged towards you, holding his hands together as he leaped to hit you smack on the top of your head. You yelped as it hit you, falling to the ground quickly. Hastily, you stood up, grappling him to the ground as you turned to Dan. 

"Get the hell out of here! Get the police!" You yelled before feeling the boy's fist collide with you jaw. He threw you to the ground next to him, again and again hitting you in the face. You kept trying to struggle against him, but with every struggle, he struck harder.

You were starting to feel like this was useless, that this angry ghost was going to keep beating you until you passed out from exhaustion, when Dan's travel mug whizzed through the ghost pinning you down. His form dispersed, and though you were stunned for a minute, you realized.  _Iron._  

You turned to praise Dan for his genius, but he was already running for the hills, phone in hand. You took a moment to catch your breath before feeling those thoughts come back, and you knew he was nearby again. You waited for a signal, but got nothing. You turned and there he was standing, looking peaceful once again. You knew it was probably a trick, or maybe he was trying to summon a bit of calmness to talk it out. His form was twitching, almost as if he wasn't being processed by the world in the right way.

"Please," He whispers, many voices on top of his own. "Find him."

Find who? You've already found his body. You were wondering what the hell he meant when you saw him gazing at an object on the ground, covered in leaves and dirt. You walk over to it, gaze not leaving the ghost boy.

After a long minute, you turn to look at the object. You kneel down and brush away the leaves, and when it burns your fingers you know. A bloody iron knife sits in the dirt, and with any luck, there'll be fingerprints on it to figure out who killed this kid.

You turn back to the kid, but now he's running at you, ready to fight again. He swings a clenched fist at you, but you're ready and narrowly dodge his attack. He stumbles onto the knife, which burns him the second he touches it. He fumbles over his burning foot and falls to the ground, and you quickly pin him there as tight as you can.

You solely focus on holding him down until you hear people coming into the woods, approaching the site. You watch as Dan leads a patrol of police officers into the area, pointing towards where you found the body and speaking to the officer in charge.

The ghost underneath you disappears, as if he just melted into the ground. You stand up, confused for a moment before shrugging it off. 

After getting the police to look at the knife in the dirt, they said they had enough evidence to find the killer. "What to tell his mother," One of the officers mused. The boy had been missing for about a month. You sit with Dan off to the side, who took out his phone and pretended to call someone, even though it was just an excuse to talk to you.

"You did good. That was a smart move with the mug!" You say happily. Dan shrugs.

"It was nothing. You did all the real work." 

"Nonsense. Regardless of who did what, I hope we brought that boy some peace." You say. Dan nods, and soon enough, another officer is talking to him. Saying he'll have to give a statement, technical things that Dan is only half-processing. 

After so long, the officers give him permission to leave, saying they'll be in contact. Before you have the chance to leave, you see him again. The same boy who you'd just fought with, the same one being hauled off in a black bag. He's lighter now, and doesn't twitch at all.

"Thank you." He says, his voice normal and not the warped mess it had been earlier. You nod slowly in reply. 

A light shines out between two trees, like a door. It makes you scared and you jump back on instinct, but the boy walks to it and lets it's beams reach out to him. Then it pulls him in before the light flickers out.

You sit there, backed up against a tree and staring at where the light portal had been, as if it'll open up and take you, too. Dan is staring there too, but with a look of hope and relief in his eyes and you start to think that maybe that was a good thing. Maybe that's what the dark ghosts had to do.

Maybe you'd have to do it too, someday.


End file.
